The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Monday sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Canadian Global Oil Shale Holdings (GOSH) to assess oil shale resources in the southern region of the Kingdom.

The Canadian firm will study the economic feasibility of an oil shale project in the Attarat Um Ghudran and Isphere Al-Mahatain Central and South of Jordan. After completing the term, the company will enter into negotiations with the Jordanian government to conclude an agreement to exploit oil shale resources within the two Areas.

Under the twenty-four months MoU, signed by Energy Minister Alaa Batayneh and GOSH General Manager David Argile, the company is granted an estimated area of (221.3 km 2) in the two Areas to carry out its exploratory and the studies necessary to determine the area that meets the needs of the project in terms of the quantity and quality for the intended project.

Argile predicted that the company is studying the economic feasibility of the project in the two areas and the feasibility of producing up to 50 thousand barrels per day of shale oil during the Development period that extends forty years.

He added that the company at the end of the study period will sign an agreement to develop oil shale resources in the two areas with an initial Oil Shale reserve estimates of about 2.5 billion tons.

The estimated Kingdom's imports of energy is about 98 percent of Kingdom’s fuel consumption that makes oil shale projects viable economic contribution option to ease the burdens posed by energy on the treasury.